Six Scottish clubs have successfully made the cut as finalists for the prestigious Dunfermline Building Society Junior Club of the Year Award for 2009, which will be announced at the ninth Scottish Golf Dinner later this month.
The successful clubs that made the short-list include two clubs from Dumfries and Galloway, Powfoot GC and Stranraer GC along with three clubs providing strong representation from the West, comprising Kirkintilloch GC, Palacerigg and Ranfurly Golf Clubs. Duns GC in Berwickshire concludes the final line-up, from 29 clubs who entered this year’s Award.
Andy Salmon, Scottish golf development manager and a member of the SGU judging panel said, “Last year’s inaugural award set a very high benchmark and as a result all of the clubs from across the country nominated this year have had to demonstrate a great commitment to the growth of the junior game.
“It has been extremely encouraging to see the fantastic results achieved by these pro-active clubs who have embraced a positive and inclusive culture for juniors – who are the future of the game – and we now have the very difficult task over the next two weeks of selecting the winner for 2009.”
All of the finalists have been invited to the showcase dinner hosted at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 27th March. The winners of the sought after title will be awarded a cheque for a £1,000 from the Scottish Golf Union and clubgolf, the national junior golf programme, to be invested in the club’s junior programme. The winner’s prize also includes two spots in a European Tour pro-am, playing alongside a leading professional golfer. The five runners up will each receive £300 to help develop their junior golf programmes.
Launched last year, the Junior Award is part of Dunfermline Building Society’s £150,000 investment into Scottish golf. Aberdeenshire’s Alford Golf Club were the worthy winners of the 2008 title and helped to establish the high standard that clubs need to meet to be considered for the Award.
Dunfermline Building Society chief executive Jim Willens said, “We are delighted to sponsor the Junior Club of the Year Award for the second successive year and have been greatly impressed by the efforts of golf clubs across Scotland in promoting junior golf.
“Dunfermline Building Society is committed to supporting golf at the grass roots level through our partnership with the Scottish Golf Union and this Award helps to highlight what can be achieved through investing in local communities. We’d like to congratulate all clubs who took part and I look forward to presenting the winning club later this month.”
Now the biggest sponsors of junior golf in Scotland, Dunfermline Building Society’s golf affinity account – The Fairway Savers Account – launched eighteen months ago, now has in excess of 4,500 account holders and has broken through the £10 million savings barrier, with £500 given to any club who signs up 50 of their members.
Dunfermline Building Society www.dunfermline.com
Scottish Golf Union www.scottishgolfunion.org